My blog throughout experiencing the journey of the 2010 Games. Stay tune!

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Women's Super G - Whistler

Bright and early yesterday morning, I had the opportunity to go to Whistler in order to witness the Women's Super G. What exactly is the Women's Super G, you may ask? It's basically alpine skiing, and obviously with women competing. After coming to Whistler, I now truly understand how stressful, and nerve-racking it is to compete in such a prestigious event. One little mistake can jeopardize an athlete's performance.

There were 53 women competing, and a couple of them were disqualified within the first 30 seconds. Unfortunately, two of the four Canadian women were a part of that bunch. I can't imagine how disappointing it would be to have worked so hard, and screw up when it mattered the most.

The track was an extremely difficult one. Some of the women fell short, while others ranked high. Britt Janyk started off incredibly fast, which put her in podium contention, however turned into a near disaster when she lost her control. She miraculously pulled things back together, and managed to finish off and ranked 17th place.

While in Whistler, I also get a chance to interview Joy Fera. Joy Fera was an Olympian that competed in the sport of rowing. Sh won three gold medals, one silver at the Canadian Masters' Alpine Ski Championships at Sun Peaks Resort, Kamloops. She won gold and silver in Giant Slalom, gold in Slalom and gold in combined for women in her age category. Joy competed in the Olympic Games in her home country during the Summer Olympics in Montreal, in the year of 1976. For the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, Joy is a slipper. I wasn't exactly sure what a slipper was until yesterday. A slipper is essentially someone that smooths the ice before and after an athlete is going down the mountain. Slippers are usually avoided by the camera, and are more like the behind-the-scenes type of workers. The hours are also really early. Fera mentioned that she had to be on top of the mountain to start "slippering" by 3AM for the Games.

All in all, my trip to Whistler was a great success. I got time to stroll around Whistler Village for a bit and enjoy the atmosphere of the Games up there. It was a tiring, but enjoyable day. Too bad I didn't run into anyone from Peak Season. :P